ORONO — The Vermont men’s basketball team flashed its prowess in a 73-57 victory over the University of Maine on Wednesday night and secured first place in the America East Conference.

The Catamounts executed well on both ends of the court and will enter the conference tournament as the top seed. They improved to 22-5 overall, 13-2 in the conference.

Third-place Maine (14-12, 8-6) will try to regain its footing and recover from what is now a five-game losing streak. They have two conference games left before the end of their regular season.

“We knew this would be a tough stretch, no question,” said Maine Coach Ted Woodward. “A lot of tough teams. Vermont at home.

“We’ve got to play better basketball when you face tough stretches, in particular on the defensive end. We’ve got to get back to that.”

Maine defeated Vermont on the road by a similar score a month ago, winning 72-58 to move into sole possession of first place at the time.

But the Catamounts dominated the glass Wednesday night, outrebounding Maine 34-20, which contributed to some easy baskets along the way.

Vermont was a better team defensively, said Woodward, from the team he saw last month.

“Vermont has done a tremendous job all season. They’re to be congratulated,” he said.

“You have to play a great basketball game to beat them. You have to play great on both ends and on the glass. Unfortunately, we couldn’t match up in some of those areas.”

Up by six at halftime, the Catamounts used an 11-4 run to start pulling away in the second half.

They shut down guard Gerald McLemore, holding him to two free throws, and forced Maine to chase.

Evan Fjeld had 19 points for Vermont, some appearing effortless aided by screens and flawless inside passes.

“When we run plays and screen, we’re a tough team to defend,” said Fjeld. “Everyone can score. We try to spread it around so teams can’t key on one guy … We’re a much better defensive team.

“It’s huge to lock up the (regular-season) championship right now, head into the tourney in first place. We’re peaking at the right time of the year.”

Maine forward Troy Barnies had 16 points and turned several shots into three-point plays.

Despite some tough losses, he said the team’s mood is a determined one.

“As a captain I feel like our team morale is still high,” said Barnies. “We know how good we can be.

“We keep saying this: ‘We hit a bump in the road, we need to find a way be consistent about it.’“

The Catamounts controlled the boards early and opened with a 6-2 run.

“A couple of loose balls and extra shots that first couple of minutes … we need to finish those possessions,” said Woodward.

“We had to play catch-up from the first four minutes all night. This is a game where you have to make them earn every single thing they get.”

Maine will play Siena on Saturday before finishing with conference games against New Hampshire Feb. 22 and Albany Feb. 27. The conference tournament begins March 3 at Hartford, Conn. 

Staff Writer Jenn Menendez can be contacted at 791-6426 or at:
jmenendez@pressherald.com

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